Paz Vega

Paz Vega (full name Paz Campos Trigo) was born on January 2, 1976 in Seville Spain. She is a Spanish actress. Paz Vega Height : 5'8"/173 cm.

Biography and Career :

Paz Vega first dreamed of being a sports star and later took interest in politics.

At 16, Paz Vega left school and patiently waited for the prestigious Centro Andaluz de Teatro acting school to accept her. After two years at the acting school and another two studying journalism, Paz Vega moved to Madrid, where she sought fame. She changed her name to Paz Vega (her grandmother's last name) and worked in bars while auditioning for every acting job she could.

Paz Vega's first big jobs came on TV, where she appeared in three episodes of the Spanish series Menudo es mi padre, and in two other series, Mas que amigo

s and Companeros. In 1999, Paz got her first major movie role in Zapping, in which she played a hot sex-loving vixen who snagged another woman's husband. That same year, she had a minor part in Sobrevivire (I Will Survive), which got people noticing her.

Paz Vega made her television debut in the Spanish TV series Menudo es mi padre, which starred pint-sized rhumba singer El Fary. After appearing in two other series in 1997 - Mas que amigos and teen drama Companeros - she went on to grace the silver screen in 1999 in Zapping. The same year she also had a minor role in the David Menkes movie I Will Survive (Sobrevivire) alongside Emma Suarez, Juan Diego Botto and a cameo from Boy George.

Yet it was with the series 7 vidas (also in 1999) that her really big break came. The series was billed as a Spanish Friends and went on to become one of the country's best-loved domestic sitcoms. Vega played Laura, a perky Andalucian girl who had come to stay in the flat of David, who had recently come out of a coma. The series was broadcast on Telecinco and finished April 12, 2006, albeit without Vega.

After seeing Vega on 7 vidas, film maker Mateo Gil was so taken with her that he gave her a substantial role in his film Nadie conoce a nadie, scripted and soundtracked by Alejandro Amenabar (who was later to be instrumental in the transatlantic success of Penelope Cruz and successful internationally in his own right as director of The Others and The sea inside).

The next Spanish film maker to be captivated by Vega was Julio Medem. Vega was chosen to play the title role in his "provocatively sensual" project Sex and Lucia (Luci­a y el sexo), a split-narrative tale of a young lady who becomes involved with a writer and the unexpected turn events take when a discovery he makes is followed by tragedy. In order to concentrate on the role, Vega had to leave 7 vidas. The film, an erotically charged piece of work, soon became an international success, winning Vega a Goya (Spain's answer to an Oscar) for Best Female Newcomer.

In 2001 Paz Vega appeared alongside Sergi Lopez as a battered wife in the brutal Solo mia and in 2002 no less than Pedro Almodovar, gave her a part in his film Talk to Her (Hable con ella). The film also starred her 7 vidas co-star Javier Camara and went on to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay, almost unheard of for a foreign-language film. Soon after, she could be seen in the musical romantic sex comedy, The Other Side of the Bed (El otro lado de la cama, 2002).

After two more movies, including a rendition of Carmen in 2003, Paz started being coveted abroad. James L. Brooks, of The Simpsons and As Good as It Gets, signed her for his new directing project, a comedy called Spanglish, with Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni. This movie will no doubt raise her profile in the U.S. and she will hopefully be seen in more American movies. After Spanglish, Paz can be seen in 2005's Un angel en la oscuridad in the pipeline.

Trivia :

- Took her surname Vega from her grandmother.
- Majored in journalism, but dropped out of college after two years to pursue an acting career.
- Husband is Venezuelan. They met while vacationing on a Spanish island.
- Her stage name translated into English means 'peace meadow'.
- After two years at the acting school, she moved to Madrid, where she worked in bars while auditioning for every gig she heard about.
- Was a television star before making it in movies.

Quotes :

- "I don't want to play only Latin women. I want to have roles in English."
- "I am only an actress when they say, 'action' and I stop being an actress when they say, 'cut'. I am a normal person outside of acting."